Intensity Series

[gymguru]

Ok..I've been working out for a long time now and I can mix my workouts to where I meet all my muscle and cardio needs but now that I'm doing Cathe's Intensity series I'm not so sure I understand the procedure here. If the workouts are in the group then I guess I thought that the workouts worked together am I right?

I have Boot Camp, Cardio and Weights and just purchased Muscle Endurance and am trying to get the pyramids so I work the areas out on my own program at this point but how are these to work together because it seems that I would not want to do Boot Camp with the shoulder/tricep/bicep work then the following day do Cardio and Weights as it would be overworking unless I'm using a very light weight (which I don't want to do as it's suppose to be Intense right?).

I also have been doing the Strong Legs and Abs during the week too.

Could any of you tell me how you work a "Series" group of Cathe's workouts or at least how they are suppose to be set up during the week? I want to work on getting the Slow and Heavy Series next but if the series doesn't work together then I'll keep taking a workout from each and make it fit my workout schedule so that I work all areas hard in a weeks time.

Thanks to all of you!
Lori

 

[kathryn]

>Ok..I've been working out for a long time now and I can mix
>my workouts to where I meet all my muscle and cardio needs but
>now that I'm doing Cathe's Intensity series I'm not so sure I
>understand the procedure here. If the workouts are in the
>group then I guess I thought that the workouts worked together
>am I right?

No, unlike P90X, Cathe's workout "series" aren't really created with a pre-conceived plan of being used together (though she does come up with some rotations for them "after the fact"). They are more just a "variety" of workout styles an types that are produced at the same time.

>
>Could any of you tell me how you work a "Series" group of
>Cathe's workouts or at least how they are suppose to be set up
>during the week? I want to work on getting the Slow and Heavy
>Series next but if the series doesn't work together then I'll
>keep taking a workout from each and make it fit my workout
>schedule so that I work all areas hard in a weeks time.
>

Actually, Slow and Heavy works "together" because it is one, three-day split routine. For those, just do one workout every other day (the lower body on Monday, for example, an upper body on Wednesday, and the other upper body on Friday. Actually, I would personally do chest/back on Monday, the lower body WITHOUT the shoulders on Wednesday, and Shoulders with biceps and triceps on Friday.) In between, fit in some cardio workouts.

Some possible ways of using the Intensities ("Monday" is just whatever day you choose to do "day 1"):

Monday: PLB (I like to use a 10-minute cardio warm-up before weight workouts, which could be any workout you want0>
Tuesday: some cardio (cardio and weights, the cardio portions only?)
Wednesday: PUB
Thursday: IMAX2
Friday: Boot camp OR Muscle endurance OR Cardio and weights
Saturday: cardio
Sunday: off/stretch

OR, you could alternate between a Pyramids week (pyramids each twice a week, with cardio days in between) and a "full-body weights or weights+ cardio week like this:
Monday: Muscle endurance
Tuesday: cardio
Wednesday: cardio and weights
Thursday: cardio
Friday: Boot camp
Saturday: cardio
Sunday: off or stretch

As you can see, the Intensity series on its own doesn't offer enough cardio options (or, offers too many weight options) to be a complete and balanced rotation on its own.

 

[gogigi]

Cathe posted 3 different rotations using only workouts from the I-Series. I tried to find them for you, but I didn't have any luck. Maybe someone else can help out. I know when the I-Series came out, many people posted about breaking plateus (I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong) using this series. In answer to your question about if the I-series was intended to be used as a group...I can't really say that I've heard Cathe say one way or the other, but you CAN use them as a group or combine them with other workouts.
Angela :7
Edited to say I found the Advanced Total Overall Body Blast Rotation using the I-Series:
Day 1: Boot Camp
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Muscle Endurance
Day 4: Imax 2
Day 5: Cardio & Weights
Day 6: Pyramid Lower Body with first five intervals of Imax 2
Day 7: Pyramid Upper Body
This was one of the rotations posted by Cathe.

 

[gymguru]

Ok so when buying Cathe's workout "series" I should keep in mind that that does not mean they work together as a weekly program necessarily?
Now the slow and heavy "series" is a complete weight workout without the cardio segments right?

This helps a lot on my figuring out which DVDs or videos I need to get my workouts completed at home.

I'm taking a break from the gym and these workouts are just my ticket! I really get tired of the men who seem to stare as if they've never seen a woman before! I'm actually getting my upper body workout in for once! Yeah!

 

[kathryn]

> Now the slow and heavy "series" is a complete weight workout
>without the cardio segments right?

I don't think of GS, or PS or S&H or any of the other split routines as a "series": they are two or three workouts that are meant to be used together (because separately, they do not make a complete body workout).